How the Most Trusted Venues for Health-Related Information Influence Physician Referrals to Smoking Cessation Services

Abstract EN

Public health programs seek to educate physicians by using a variety of venues.

Therefore, it is important to understand which health information sources physicians are using and how these sources affect referrals.

We explored how venues for health-related information affect physicians' referral practices to smoking cessation services.

The 2008 DocStyles survey asked physicians to rank a list of their most trusted sources of health-related information.

The analysis was restricted to 1,617 physicians who responded to all variables of interest.

In this sample, the most trusted sources of health-related information cited by physicians were medical journals (95.9%), government health agencies (82.2%), other physicians (76.4%), professional medical societies (75.2%), and medical Web sites or podcasts (65.9%).

Medical providers were more likely to refer tobacco users to cessation services if they used professional medical societies as a source to obtain patient health-related information, compared with medical providers not using this source (multivariate odds ratio = 1.31; 95% confidence interval = 1.03–1.66).

Physicians use many health information sources.

Therefore, to reach physicians effectively, a broad dissemination of guidelines and best practices in tobacco control is needed and should include information for medical societies.